Programs, Tools & Resources
to Assist Local Governments
Implementing Your Climate Action Plans
FEBRUARY 2008
EPA 909-K-08-001
U.S. EPA PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
U.S. mayors, city staff and local organizations are taking the lead to address climate change at the local community level. Cities are signing agreements, setting targets, and writing climate action plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the tools, resources and programs your city needs to implement those action plans. First, look to EPA for partnership opportunities. The first section of this directory lists general resources and a number of grant funding opportunities for your city to consider. The second section lists EPA programs, tools and resources that address a number of programs that your city may be considering, such as green building, environmental preferential purchasing, and bio-diesel.
Next, consider using the Environmental Management System (EMS) continuous improvement approach to get the job done.
An EMS is superior for implementation of policies and programs that cross departmental lines and require coordination among several participants. An EMS will ensure that your climate action plans get implemented. This management approach assures effective and efficient implementation of your city’s green house gas emissions reduction strategies. See Chapter II, Programs for Local Governments. Please consider our agency and the numerous EPA programs that provide grants, give recognition, and assist local governments. Our programs are multifaceted and can be selected and combined in any way that works within your city’s plans. For example, if you are considering energy efficient buildings, please consider our programs for green buildings, greenscapes, cool roofs, geothermal, the Energy Star partnership, and more!
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U.S. EPA PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
EPA has many resources, tools and funding to support programs that encourage environmental stewardship through collaboration at the community level. These programs can assist you in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in your city. Consider each of these as you write your community-wide Climate Action Plans.
I. Grants and Funding II. Programs for Local Governments Implementing Climate Action Plans (alphabetical listing) III. Other EPA Resources
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U.S. EPA PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
I. Grants and Funding A Directory of Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, and Environmental
Protection Assistance Programs
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/pollprev/PDF/FundingOpportunities.pdf Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE): competitive grant program that offers an innovative way for a community to organize and take action to reduce toxic pollution in its local environment. Through CARE, a community creates a partnership that implements solutions to reduce releases of toxic pollutants and minimize people's exposure to them. By providing financial and technical assistance, EPA helps CARE communities get on the path to a renewed environment. www.epa.gov/CARE/ NCER, Financial Assistance Programs to Support Collaborative Community and Regional Environmental Protection: Five grant programs focused on sustainability, toxics reduction, environmental health, environmental justice, and tribal science, that emphasize science and community-based collaboration. http://es.epa.gov/ncer/cns/programs.html Innovative Approaches: Communities Get Smart Growth Assistance: Communities in six states will receive $45,000 for customized technical assistance to help them put the principles of more efficient, affordable, and environmentally sensitive growth into action. www.epa.gov/innovation/ Funding Sources for Communities: a list of ongoing grant programs that are
available to a variety of recipients (primarily state and local governments, and
nonprofits) within Region 9 (California, Arizona, Hawaii and Nevada).
http://yosemite.epa.gov/r9/fsfc.nsf/fundingsources?ReadForm Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF): programs provided more than $5 billion annually in recent years to fund water quality protection projects for wastewater treatment, nonpoint source pollution control, and watershed and estuary management. www.epa.gov/owmitnet/cwfinance/cwsrf/ Additional funding resources: The preceding page is not a complete listing of all EPA grant programs. EPA's Headquarters and other regional and field offices have other grant programs that may occur just once, but these grants are not listed here. For these, check the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: www.epa.gov/ogd/grants/cfda.htm
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U.S. EPA PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
II. Programs for Local Government This alphabetical list of programs can assist you in reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in your city. Consider incorporating some of these into your city’s Climate Action Plans. Agriculture If your city has an agricultural economy, consider reducing your community-wide
greenhouse emissions at confined animal feedlot operations by promoting the use of
biogas recovery systems. www.epa.gov/agstar
Best Workplaces for Commuters This program will help communities increase participation in commuting options, reduce congestion and air pollution, and highlight employers that promote alternatives to driving alone. www.bestworkplacesforcommuters.com Carbon Sequestering Agricultural and forestry practices can remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the
atmosphere. The term “sinks” is also used to describe agricultural and forestry lands
that absorb CO2.
www.epa.gov/sequestration/index.html
www.epa.gov/safewater/uic/wells_sequestration.html
www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/co2_geosequest.html
www.epa.gov/hiri/strategies/greenroofs.html
Clean Construction An innovative program designed to help reduce diesel emissions from construction
equipment and vehicles. www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/construction
Clean Ports USA If yours is a port city, consider reducing your community-wide greenhouse gas
emissions through this program. www.epa.gov/otaq/retrofit/ports.htm
Clean School Bus USA Provide the children in your city with the cleanest possible transportation by eliminating unnecessary school bus idling, retrofitting 1991 and later school buses with advanced emission control technology; and replacing the oldest school buses (1990 and earlier) with new ones. www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus/ Clean Up/ Clean Air To encourage, facilitate, and support diesel emissions and greenhouse gas reductions technologies and practices at cleanup and redevelopment sites within your city. www.epa.gov/region09/cleanup-clean-air/ Climate Leaders Encourage the companies in your city to consider Climate Leaders: a voluntary program to encourage companies to set greenhouse gas emissions goals. www.epa.gov/climateleaders
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U.S. EPA PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
Combined Heat and Power Join Honolulu, Chicago and Palo Alto--cities with a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) operation, also known as cogeneration. An efficient and reliable approach to generating power and thermal energy from a single fuel source:. www.epa.gov/chp www.epa.gov/chp/regional_resources/ini.htm#ini_pacific_sw Commuter Choice Sign a voluntary agreement and offer your city employees some traffic-reducing commuter benefits. www.commuterchoice.gov/ Conservation Pricing Consider the potential for water pricing strategies to be used to both stimulate conservation and raise revenue to meet clean water needs. www.epa.gov/owmitnet/cwfinance/cwsrf/consrvprice.pdf Cool Pavement Consider reducing your community-wide greenhouse gas emissions and energy use. Pavement can affect urban heat islands and air quality. Communities can choose paving materials that lower surface temperature and achieve related objectives: www.epa.gov/hiri/strategies/coolpavement.html Cool Roofs Cool roofs do more than save your city money – they reduce the demand for electric power and resulting air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. www.epa.gov/hiri/strategies/coolroofs.html http://roofcalc.cadmusdev.com/ www.consumerenergycenter.org/coolroof/ Diesel Retrofit To improve the emissions performance of existing diesel vehicles and equipment by encouraging the use of newer technology on their engines: www.epa.gov/otaq/retrofit/ Energy Star Maximize energy efficiency in your own buildings and promote it for other commercial, industrial, and residential settings. Check out the city-to-city challenge, and support the Change a Light, Change the World Campaign with the government pledge and tool kit. www.energystar.gov/ www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=change_light.changealight_government http://energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=government.bus_government_local Environmental Management Systems An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a set of processes and practices that enable your city to increase its operating efficiency, ensuring implementation of your climate action plans. www.epa.gov/ems/index.html Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) Consider passing an EPP policy for your city and its contractors. Purchase products or services that have a lesser effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products or services. www.epa.gov/epp/
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U.S. EPA PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) This on-line feature can help your city identify and buy desktop and laptop computers and monitors that have fewer toxics, save energy, last longer & are easier to recycle!
www.epeat.net
e-Waste; Plug Into Recycling Increase the number of convenient and low cost opportunities for citizens to recycle their old electronics and increase awareness and desire to recycle these products. www.plugintorecycling.org Facilities Partnerships Consider these programs for facility partnership opportunities with the EPA. www.epa.gov/ebtpages/envipartnerships.html www.epa.gov/performancetrack www.epa.gov/partners/programs/index.htm Geothermal Consider ground source heating and cooling which can be done anywhere in the US. The heat pump transfers heat stored in the Earth or in ground water into a building during the winter, and transferring it out of the building and back into the ground during the summer. http://www.epa.gov/region1/eco/energy/re_geothermal.html http://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm/geothermal.htm Great American Woodstove Changeout Program Facilitate the change out of old, dirty, inefficient “conventional” woodstoves manufactured before 1988 to new, cleaner burning gas, pellet and EPA-certified stoves. Reduce air toxics, improves energy efficiency and reduces fire hazards. www.epa.gov/woodstoves/changeout.htm Green Building, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal of buildings takes enormous amounts of energy, water, and materials, and generates large quantities of waste, but it doesn’t have to: www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/, www.epa.gov/opptintr/greenbuilding Green Communities This site includes a five-step planning process that provides tools and goals to help neighborhoods and municipalities move towards a more sustainable future, as well as helpful links to sustainlane and greenplaybook. www.epa.gov/region02/sustainability/greencommunities/ Green Fleets Use this guide when considering purchase of new city vehicles. Updated annually, you can get both fuel economy and emissions for all new vehicles. www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/ Green Infrastucture Consider green infrastructure techniques that utilize natural systems, or engineered systems that mimic natural landscapes, to capture, cleanse and reduce stormwater runoff using plants, soils and microbes. http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=298
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U.S. EPA PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
Green Power Partnership Consider a city pledge to replace a portion of its electricity consumption with green power within a year of joining the partnership. EPA offers market information, and recognition and promotion of city purchasers. www.epa.gov/greenpower/ Green Roofs An alternative to traditional roofing materials is a rooftop garden, or "green roof." On hot summer days, the surface temperature of a vegetated rooftop can be cooler than the air temperature, whereas the surface of a traditional rooftop can be up to 90°F (50°C) warmer. www.epa.gov/hiri/strategies/greenroofs.html Green Suppliers Network The Green Suppliers Network is a collaboration among industry and government that focuses on offering small and medium-sized manufacturers the best available technical assistance on Lean and Clean manufacturing techniques. www.epa.gov/greensuppliers Green Hospitals The resources on this web site were specifically developed for hospitals. Useful to communities, hospitals, and their employees, as they try to reduce their environmental footprint. www.epa.gov/region02/p2/health.htm Green Meetings Take key steps in planning and conducting an environmentally aware event, and require the same of your contractors and the large event planners in your city. www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/reduce/grn-mtgs/index.htm www.epa.gov/oppt/greenmeetings/ www.epa.gov/region09/waste/greenvenues Greenscapes Influence the reduction, reuse, and recycling of waste materials in large-scale landscaping by providing cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly solutions that conserve natural resources and energy. www.epa.gov/greenscapes/ Heat Island Reduction Initiative Urban and suburban temperatures are 2 to 10°F hotter than nearby rural areas, impacting communities by increasing peak energy demand, air conditioning costs, air pollution levels, and heat-related illness and mortality. Communities can take common sense measures to reduce the negative effects of heat islands. www.epa.gov/hiri/ www.epa.gov/hiri/strategies/community.html Labs 21 If your city has laboratories, consider reducing your community wide greenhouse gas emissions by promoting the Labs 21 program. Laboratories require tens of millions of dollars worth of energy to run. EPA and DOE are helping new and retrofitted laboratories cut their energy costs. www.labs21century.gov/ Land Use Encourages environmentally beneficial land use measures in a State Implementation Plan (SIP) or conformity determination. Ongoing research on the interaction between land use and vehicular emissions in different urban designs. www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/rellinks/docs/f00047.pdf
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U.S. EPA PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
Landfill Methane Outreach Program Consider the use of landfill gas as a renewable, green energy source. Preventing emissions of methane (a powerful greenhouse gas) through the development of landfill gas energy projects, helps communities build a sustainable future. www.epa.gov/lmop Lawns and the Environment Develops consensus-based guidelines for responsible lawn and landscaping practices,
and educates and encourages the public to adopt them.
nnelsoncrm@msn.com, pparkercrm@msn.com
Municipal Solid Waste Facilities Information on landfills as well as facts on source reduction, which prevent the generation of waste in the first place www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non hw/muncpl/disposal.htm P3: People, Prosperity and the Planet Student Design Competition This competition focuses on benefiting people, promoting prosperity, and protecting the planet through innovative designs to address challenges to sustainability. www.epa.gov/p3/ Pay As You Throw (PYT) Communities with PYT programs create a direct economic incentive to recycle more and to generate less waste. www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/payt/index.htm, www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/payt/tools/public.htm Performance Track Encourage your city (or the companies in your city) to implement an Environmental Management System, to make commitments to reduce greenhouse gases and to get national recognition under EPA Performance Track Program. Cities can also receive recognition through this innovative program. www.epa.gov/performancetrack
PFC Reduction Partnership for the Semiconductor Industry
Encourage the semiconductor companies in your city to consider EPA’s Perfluorocarbon (PFC) Reduction/Climate Partnership to reduce high global warming potential greenhouse gas emissions. www.epa.gov/semiconductor-pfc/ Public Involvement EPA has a number of resources to engage your community in ways friends, family and the general public can assist in reducing GHG emissions and protect the environment. www.epa.gov/epahome/citizen.htm www.epa.gov/region1/topics/communities/infobyzip.html http://airnow.gov/ www.epa.gov/epahome/acting.htm Recycle on The Go EPA is partnering with government agencies and businesses to introduce recycling programs in places where large numbers of people gather, such as parks, stadiums, airports, convention centers, and special events. www.epa.gov/recycleonthego SF6 Reduction for Electric Power Systems Encourage the electric power industry companies to identify and implement costeffective solutions to reduce sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) emissions-- a highly potent greenhouse gas. www.epa.gov/magnesium-sf6/
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U.S. EPA PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
Smart Growth Through research, tools, partnerships, case studies, grants, and technical assistance, EPA is helping America's communities turn their visions of the future into reality. www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/ www.epa.gov/livablecommunities/sg_network.htm www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/grants/index.htm www.epa.gov/otaq/stateresources/index.htm Smartway Partnership Program Encourage the choice of trucking and/or rail companies that are environmental leaders in their respective industry. www.epa.gov/smartway/idling.htm www.smartway/growandgo SunWise Schools Encourage your school district to adopt an environmental and health education program to teach children and their caregivers how to protect themselves from overexposure to the sun. You’ll find lots of information including a zip code-searchable UV Index. www.epa.gov/sunwise Superfund/Brownfields Sites and Sustainable Development, Alternative Fuels and Brightfields Brightfields encourage economic development on Brownfield sites through solar energy applications and The Brownfields and Land Revitalization Technology Support Center: www.epa.gov/Region8/land_waste/bfhome/bfsd.html www.eere.energy.gov/wip/pdfs/brightfields.pdf www.epa.gov/swerosps/bf/pdf/brightfd.pdf www.brownfieldstsc.org/roadmap/home.cfm Transportation This web page provides information on carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and other mobile sources. http://epa.gov/otaq/greenhousegases.htm The “It all Adds Up to Cleaner Air” program educates your community about the impact of travel choices on air quality, traffic congestion, and public health. http://www.italladdsup.gov/about/index.asp Universal Waste If your city has a collection program for federally designated “universal wastes,” which include batteries, pesticides, mercury-containing equipment and lamps, EPA can assist with streamlined hazardous waste management standards. www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/id/univwast/guidnce.htm Waste Programs for Communities Waste Prevention, Recycling and Composting Options: Lessons from 30 Communities: These case studies illustrate: How to Set Up a Local Program to Recycle Used Oil, Household Hazardous Waste Management: A Manual for One-Day Community Collection Programs, How to Start or Expand a Recycling Collection Program. http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/reduce/recy-com/toc.pdf
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U.S. EPA PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
Pay-As-You-Throw: Throw Away Less and Save; Measuring Recycling: A Guide for State and Local Governments; www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/community.htm www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/organics/index.htm EPA is partnering with government agencies and businesses to introduce recycling programs in places where large numbers of people gather, such as parks, stadiums, transportation hubs (for example, airports, bus and train stations, and highway rest stops), special events, and shopping centers. www.epa.gov/recycleonthego, or http://besmart.org/publicplacerecycling/ Recycling in the 21st Century. Useful tools and examples of successful endeavors communities have undertaken to bolster their recycling programs. http://www2.ergweb.com/projects/obd/localgov/ Waste Not / Want Not By reducing solid waste through food recovery, EPA can work with your city to ensure good food goes to the dinner table instead of going to waste. www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/reduce/wastenot.htm www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/organics/pubs/food-guide.pdf Waste Reduction Model (WARM) WARM was developed to assist solid waste managers in determining the GHG impacts of their waste management practices. WARM compares GHG and energy impacts of landfilling, recycling, incineration, composting, and source reduction. www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/calculators/Warm_home.html WasteWise Communities Seeking solutions to climate change with local government action. Promote cost savings and efficiency with waste prevention, recycling, and purchasing recycled content products. Cities receive recognition through this innovative program. www.epa.gov/wastewise www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-w/reduce/wstewise/climate/index.htm www.epa.gov/wastewise/conf/summaries/wwc.htm Wastewater Management EPA has a range of programs to improve the quality of the nation's waters and watersheds. www.epa.gov/owm/ www.epa.gov/waterinfrastructure/ www.epa.gov/waterinfrastructure/toolkit.html Water Programs Low Impact Development: www.epa.owow/nps/lid Green Infrastructure: www.epa.gov/npdes/greeninfrastructure Sustainable Infrastructure: www.epa.gov/waterinfrastructure Local Govt Advisory Committee: www.epa.gov/waterinfrastructure/lgac WaterSense, water conservation: www.epa.gov/watersense Wastewater tech and financial assistance: www.epa.gov/owm/mab/smcomm. Water Recycling Guidelines & Information: http://www.epa.gov/region09/water/recycling Water Use Efficiency Program Help your community make informed decisions about water use, which can be costly and extremely energy intensive, which contributes greatly to your city greenhouse gas emissions. www.epa.owm/water-efficiency,
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=government.wastewater_drinking_water
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U.S. EPA PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
West Coast Collaborative An ambitious partnership between leaders from federal, state, and local government, the private sector, and environmental groups committed to reducing diesel emissions along the West Coast. www.westcoastdiesel.org/ www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/documents/caaac-apr06.pdf www.epa.gov/cleandiesel What You Can Do Tips for home, school, and office. In addition, EPA and its partners have developed several tools to help individuals and organizations determine the greenhouse gas impact of their purchasing, manufacturing, and waste management actions. www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/tools.html www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/ III. Other EPA Resources Clean Energy Programs are working with state policy makers, electric and gas utilities, energy customers, and other key stakeholders. By identifying, designing and implementing clean energy policy and technology solutions, we are delivering important environmental and economic benefits. www.epa.gov/cleanenergy Clean Energy Environment Municipal Network This is an information-sharing resource that is accessible to all local governments and other interested parties. It can help municipalities determine whether to formally join one or more of EPA’s partnership programs that support clean energy, and allow a city to take advantage of the additional resources available to partners in the network. www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/stateandlocal/network.htm Climate Change The United States government has established a comprehensive policy to address climate change. In 2002, the United States announced its strategy to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of the American economy by 18 percent over the 10-year period from 2002 to 2012. www.epa.gov/climatechange Envirofacts Your city can target potential greenhouse gas reduction partners. Simply type in your zip code to get information on community-wide environmental activities that affect air, water, and land. Learn specifics about these environmental activities and generate city maps. www.epa.gov/enviro/ Environmental Research Programs EPA's National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) is one of five research organizations comprising EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD). NCER’s mission is to support high-quality extramural research by the nation’s leading scientists to improve the scientific basis for decisions on national environmental issues and help EPA achieve its goals. www.epa.gov/ncer/ Local Government Advisory Committee A formal advisory committee composed primarily of elected and appointed local officials, along with several State representatives, environmental interest groups, and labor interests, that provides advice and recommendations that assist the EPA in developing a stronger partnership with local governments. www.epa.gov/ocir/scas_lgac/lgac_index.htm
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U.S. EPA PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
National Library Network Program. EPA has one of the nation's preeminent library networks that provides access to information about the environment and related scientific, technical, management, and policy information. www.epa.gov/libraries/libraries.htm News and Events Timely social, scientific, and logistic information on global warming and climate change. http://yosemite.epa.gov/OAR/globalwarming.nsf/content/NewsandEvents.html Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relationships (OCIR) The Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations (OCIR) serves as EPA's principal point of contact for Congress, States and local governments. www.epa.gov/ocir/index.htm State and Local Government Clean Energy Program This program assists state and local governments in their clean energy efforts by providing technical assistance, analytical tools, and outreach support. www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/stateandlocal/ State and Local Climate Change Program to assist in meeting the EPA goal of reducing greenhouse gas intensity by 18 percent by 2012. EPA supports states and communities by encouraging voluntary approaches and providing technical assistance and tools. www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/stateandlocalgov/index.html State and Local Outreach Kit provides outreach material designed to inform the public about global warming, with a primary focus on voluntary greenhouse gas reduction strategies that help states, communities, and individuals save money, improve air quality, and lower risks to human health. http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/ResourceCenterPublicationsOutr eachMaterialStateKit.html Transportation and Air Quality Program protects public health and the environment by regulating air pollution from motor vehicles, engines, and fuels, by encouraging travel choices that minimize emissions. www.epa.gov/otaq/
For questions, comments or additional information contact: Lynda Deschambault
U.S. EPA Pacific Southwest/Region 9, Sustainability Team
75 Hawthorne WST-2
San Francisco, CA 94105
deschambault.lynda@epa.gov
(415) 947-4183
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